Alinaone.org – The first rain in early December brought a thick scent of nostalgia. The sky above the small town was gray, like a suppressed longing. Nadira’s small steps hurried along the wet streets. The yellow umbrella she brought was unable to protect her from the touch of the rain that had turned into a thin drizzle.
Nadira had just come home from the bookstore on the corner of the street, where she usually spent her afternoons. The book Jejak Cinta that she bought was still wrapped in plastic. But that wasn’t the book that was filling her mind right now. A short message from someone who had been a big part of her life flashed across her cellphone screen a few hours ago.
“Nadira, how are you? Can I meet you?” The message was short, but enough to shake the small world that Nadira had built.
Three years had passed since the separation. Time does heal, but not easily. The shadow of Arya, a man with calm eyes and a warm smile, still often bothered her on quiet nights. Nadira remembered how they ended their relationship under the same rain, in this place, on a park bench near an old banyan tree.
“I want us to pursue our respective dreams,” Arya said at that time. Nadira could only nod even though her heart was broken. There was no argument, no tears in front of Arya. But when she came home, the rain outside could not hide her sobs.
And now, that message. The message that brought Arya back into her thoughts. Nadira was confused, hesitant. She knew that answering the message meant opening an old wound that had begun to heal. But she also realized that rejecting it would only leave questions hanging at the edge of her heart.
The next day, Arya stood in a small cafe in the city center. His gaze penetrated the window glass, watching the drizzle that fell non-stop. He felt nervous. It had been a long time since he last saw Nadira. Was she still the same? Was her smile still like before? The thoughts spun like an old record that continued to play a song of longing.
Nadira appeared with slow steps. Her hair was left loose, slightly wet from the drizzle. When Arya looked at her, time seemed to stop. She had not changed. Still the Nadira he knew, with a gaze as deep as the ocean.
“Hi,” Arya greeted, trying to smile.
“Hi,” Nadira answered briefly. Her voice was shaking, but she tried to be strong. They sat, facing each other, trying to find words amidst the hanging silence.
“I know, this is sudden. But I feel like I have to meet you,” Arya started the conversation. Nadira just stared at him without saying anything.
“I left at that time because I thought it was for the best. I was wrong,” Arya continued. “All this time I’ve tried to forget you, but the more I try, the more I realize that I can’t.”
Nadira took a deep breath. The feelings she had buried tightly began to emerge, like flowers growing after the rain.
“I don’t know what to say, Arya,” she said softly. “I need time to digest all this.”
Arya nodded. “I don’t want to force you. I just want you to know, I came back because I don’t want to lose you again.”
That meeting was the beginning of their journey to find answers. Nadira and Arya began to meet often, trying to rebuild the bridge that had collapsed. But the road is not easy. There are wounds that need to be healed, there is a past that must be accepted.
The rain continues to fall in the city, as if it is a silent witness to their struggle. Under the gray sky and endless rain, Nadira and Arya learn that love is not only about possessing, but also about forgiving and letting go.
At the end of the rain, when a rainbow appears in the sky, Nadira finally finds the answer. The traces of longing they left behind now bring them back to the same place, but with more mature hearts. Under the old banyan tree, they start over, not as two people who have lost each other, but as two hearts that have found each other.
The days roll by, and the seasons continue to change. Nadira and Arya are now like leaves that follow the flow of the river; not always smooth, but still together. In every conversation they have, there is laughter that lightens, there are tears that heal, and there is love that slowly grows back.
One afternoon, in the same place where they once parted, Arya holds Nadira’s hand. This time there is no word of goodbye, only a promise to keep walking together, whatever obstacles are in the way.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” Nadira said, looking into Arya’s eyes. “But I know, I want to go through it with you.”
Arya smiled. “Me too, Nadira. This time, I won’t let you go.”
The rain fell again, but this time it brought warmth, not sadness. They stood under the old banyan tree, letting the rain unite them in an embrace. The traces of longing at the end of the rain finally brought them to a new beginning.